Wrench.



0. P. BROWN.

WRENCH.

' APPLIOATION I'ILED APR.14, 1909. RENEWED MAR. 18, 1911.

Patented Oct. 17, 1911.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

[NVENTOR Allorney WITNESSES COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH CO.,WASH1NGTDN D C I C.P. BROWN.

WRENCH.

APPLICATION FILED APR.14, 1909. RENEWED MAR. 18, 1911.

latented Oct. 17, 1911.

ZSHEBTS-SHEET 2.

""E' q 8 -&' 20 n /0- PH COuWASHINflTON D c INVENTOR avwmw @M M AllarneyUN 1E COMMODORE PERRY BROWN, OF RONCEVERTE, WEST VIRGINIA.

' WRENCH.

incense.

Specification of Letters latent.

Patented Oct. 17, 1911.

Application filed April 14, 1909, Serial No. 489,839. Renewed March 18,1911. Serial No. 615,388.

lb all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, COMMODORE P. BRowN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Ronceverte, in the county of Greenbrier and State of WestVirginia, have invented a new and useful Vl rench, of which the fol--lowing is a specification.

My invention relates to wrenches, and

particularly to wrenches of the quickly ad of the cam-shaped key 9. Fig.5 is a side elevation of a modified form of the wrench. Fig. 6 is a viewsimilar to Fig. 5 with the movable jaw member in sect-ion. Fig. 7 is aperspective view of the wedge used in the construction shown in Figs. 5and 6. Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the eccentric cam used in themodified construction and Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the spring ormeans for normally disengaging the complementary teeth of the shank andwedge in relation to each other.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts.

Considering the first form shown in Figs. 1 to 4, respectively referencenumeral 1 designates the shaft, having fixed jaw 2; 3 a movable jawhaving guides 4 embracing the shaft; 5, a socket with a slanting face inthe movable jaw 3; 7, a tapered plug or wedge in the socket; 8, a recessof generally oval shape formed partly in the movable jaw and partly inthe wedge 7; 9, a key passing through recess 8; 10, oocentric camsurface formed on the key; 11, a washer at one end of the key secured inplace by upsetting the end of the key, as shown at 12; 13, an operatinglever; 14:, a toothed shoulder formed on the key; 15, the hub of lever13 having recess complemental to the tooth or shoulder 14; 16, a nut bywhich the lever is secured adjustably on the key, and 17, complementalnotches formed on the shank of the wrench and the adjacent face of wedge7. In Fig. 2, the wedge is shownin the unlocked position and it isobvious that the movable jaw may be slipped up and down on the shank tofit the desired nut and the wedge 7 moving in itssocket topermitadjustment of the jaw. When the jaw is in approximately correctposition, lever 18 is moved toward the position shown in Fig. 1 causingkey 9 to move in recess 8 until the longer axis of the key isapproximately in line with the short axis of the recess. This forceswedge 7 inward so that its teeth register with those of the shank and atthe same time has a tendency to force the wedge toward the fixed jaw ofthe wrench; the movable jaw is at the same time forced clownward and thelower end of the jaw is moved outward from the shank, this slightmovement being accompanied by play between the shank and guides 4. Bythis means the movable jaw is not only made fast and rigid with theshank, but the outer end of the jaw at the point 3 is moved slightlytoward the corresponding end of the fixed jaw. This serves to give aninitial angle to the movable jaw in the opposite direction to the angleto which the act of binding the nut tends to spring it; in other words,by my construction the liability of the movable jaw to spring downwardwhen in operation is overcome. The wrench may be disassembled byremoving nut 16 and lever 13 from key 9, removing the key from recess 8,thus loosening the wedge 7 and the shank may then be withdrawn from themovable jaw. The parts are reassembled by reverse operations. The angleof the operating lever 13 in relation to the key may be adjusted bymeans of the hub 15 and complemental projections 14 on the key and hubof the lever.

Considering now the form of the invention shown in Figs. 5 to 9,inclusive, it has been foimd advisable in practice to utilize someautomatic means for disengaging the complementary teeth of the shank andwedge so that when the key member carrying the cam-shaped surfaces ismoved into the position where pressure is released on the wedgemember,the wedge-member will not only be free but become disengaged from theteeth of the shank and will of its own accord move outward so that themovable jaw of the wrench may be quickly adjusted. The particular meansfor eflecting this may, of course, take many forms but in the drawingsis shown a preferred form of automatic disengaging means which in itselfincludes new and valuable features of construction. The generalconstruction of the wrench in its modified form is substantially thesame as shown in the simpler form of Figs. 1 to d-inclusive, and thesame reference characters have been applied here wherever applicable,and only the difference of construction between this form and that shownin Figs. 1 to t inclusive will be pointed out specifically, it beingunderstood that the other parts are substantially the same. It will benoted that the movable jaw member is provided wit-h a socket 19, abovethe sock et containing the wedge-member 7 This socket 19 communicateswith the socket in which the wedge-member is seated as shown moreparticularly in Fig. 6 of the drawing. Mounted upon the wedge-member 7is flatspring 18 which is doubled upon itself so that its main portionis confined in the socket 19. IVhen the key 9 is operated so as to causethe cam-shaped surfaces carried thereby to move the wedge-member intoengagement with the shank of the wrench, the flat spring 18 will becrowded into its socket and will thereby be brought under tension.l/Vhen the key 9releases the wedgemember the expansion of the spring 18acting against the sides of the movable jaw member and the shank of thewrench forces the wedge-member 7 immediately out of engagement with theteeth of the shank of the wrench. It has also been found desirable toprovide a recess 8 which is generally oval-shaped with auxiliarysurfaces or notches 20 which limit the movement of the key 9 to the endthat said key may not be turned too far and thus engage or disengage thewedge and shank when not desired, as the case may be.

I claim:

1. In a wrench, the combination of a shank having a fixed jaw, a movableaw having guides engaging the shank, a wedge fitting loosely in a socketin the movable jaw and having corrugations engaging complementalcorrugations on the shank, a key having opposite eccentric cam-surfacesfitting loosely in an oval recess formed in adj acent faces of themovable aw and wedge, and a handle on the key serving to rotate the keyand lock the movable jaw in adjusted position and to incline the tip ofthe movable jaw toward that of the fixed jaw.

2. In a wrench, the combination of a shank having a fixed jaw, a movablejaw having guides engaging the shank, a wedge fitting loosely in asocket in the movable jaw and having corrugations engaging complementalcorrugations on the shank, a key having opposite eccentric cam-surfacesfitting loosely in an oval recess formed in adjacent faces of themovable aw and wedge, a handle on the key serving to rotate the key andlock the movable aw in adjusted position and to incline the tip of themovable jaw toward that of the fixed aw, and means for automaticallycausing the wedge to disengage from the shank when the movable jaw isreleased from its locked position.

3. In a wrench, the combination of a shank having a fixed jaw, a movablejaw having guides engaging the shank, a wedge fitting loosely in asocket in the movable jaw and having corrugations engaging complementalcorrugations on the shank, a key having opposite eccentric cam-surfacesfitting loosely in an oval recess formed in adjacent faces of themovable aw and wedge, a handle on the key serving to rotate the key andlock the movable jaw in adjusted position and to incline the tip of themovable jaw toward that of the fixed aw, and means for limiting theturning movement of the key in the oval recess.

4. In a wrench, the combination of a shank, having a fixed jaw, amovable jaw having guides engaging the shank and provided with socketsfacing inwardly toward the shank, a wedge located in one of saidsockets, a flat-spring doubled upon itself seated in the other of saidsockets and engaging with the wedge-member located in the first socketto normally cause said wedge-member to disengage the shank, and meansfor moving the wedge-member into engagement with the shank.

COMMODORE PERRY BROWN.

Witnesses:

T. A. DEAVER, P. P. BROWN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

